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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Cowboy Up! Bestselling boxed set of #Contemporary #Westerns

Today, I have the lovely Sara Walter Ellwood, author of one of the seven stories in the Cowboy Up boxed set!

A few questions, and we'll get to the goods...

~~~oOo~~~

Plotter or Pantser?

I’m a hybrid, I
guess. I don’t really plot, meaning I don’t do some of the crazy things I’ve
heard others do—like index cards for every scene or elaborate outlines. But do
have a real idea of where my stories are going, especially once I hit the half
to two-thirds mark in a story. I will draft a synopsis sort of narrative so
that I know exactly how much of story I have to tell. From this, I can gage how
long a book will be. However, that first half or so is just writing by the seat
of my pants. The beginnings are never plotted.

E-books, print, or both? Any preferences?
Why?

E-books… I love my
Kindle.

Do you
read books more than once? If so, name one. What's special about it?

Yes, though I haven’t re-read something in a
long time. The series I’ve read about three times is John Jakes’ North and South trilogy (I’ve read the
first two books; I didn’t like the third book.)
I used to be a huge Civil War buff and I love John Jakes. I’ve read most
of his books more than once.

What's the strangest thing you've ever done in the name of research?

I really can’t
think of anything. Although, after an editor questioned me on something that I
had one of my ex-military characters do, I did ask one of the active duty Army
Captains at my work about it—and was thrilled to find out I was right!

Music while you write? What kind?

Sometimes, if I’m
in the mood. And it’s always country.

Do your
characters have sex on the page? On which page do they have their first sexual
encounter?

I write hot, so there are no closed doors in my
books. And as for when the sex happens, that varies, but it usually happens
just before the middle of the story.

What triggered the story behind your latest
release?

Chasing a Cowboy, part of the boxed set
COWBOY UP, got its inspiration from the recent Dierks Bentley single, “Drunk on
a Plane.” My hero isn’t drunk on a plane, but he is a jilted groom who goes to
Mexico to the resort where he was to have his honeymoon, just like the narrator
in the song.

You can invite anyone, alive or dead, or a fictional character (your
own included), to dinner. Who would you invite and why?

Don’t laugh, but I’m going with the very first
person who popped in my mind as I read the question. I’d love to have dinner
with Jesus. Not just to discuss religion, but to talk about life in general and
to gain understanding of why things happen in the world that just don’t make
sense.

What kitchen utensil would you be? Why?

LOL….
A Knife? Because no one messes with knives and they are respected, if for no
other reason than out of fear…. Though, I don’t want to be scary. So, maybe
just a little bitty paring knife.

Dogs or cats? Or gerbils or birds? Or fish?

Cats.
Though, I love birds too—in my garden, especially cardinals.

Seven men as tough as the west… Seven women who
know how to COWBOY UP.

A bestselling boxed set of contemporary westerns
for every cowboy lover…

Always,
Cowboy by Allison Merritt—The past
is better left behind, unless it offers a brighter future.

Cowboys
Don’t Cry by Vickie Taylor—A broken cowboy with nothing left to lose…except
his heart.